Grenadines Ports

Stretching south of St.Vincent for about 48 miles is a string of small island gems - some of the most beautiful and unspoilt in the Caribbean - known as the Grenadines.

Ringed by coral reefs and famed for some of the best beaches and sailing conditions on the planet, the outstanding beauty and tranquility of the Grenadines have proved a major attraction for visiting cruise ships and yachts. Most of the islands have yacht facilities and several of the larger ones have their own commercial harbours - managed and maintained by the St.Vincent and the Grenadines Port Authority.

The four
largest islands - Bequia, Mustique, Union Island and Canouan - have all
been designated ports of entry in addition to Kingstown and Campden
Park on mainland St.Vincent.

As a
consequence of the abundance of reefs and shallow gold-tone beaches,
these outer harbours are equipped on ly with jettys for inter-island
craft and have no deepwater harbours for very large vessels. The normal
practice for large cruise ships is to anchor off and to take passengers
ashore in tenders.

Nestling in stunning Admirality Bay, Port Elizabeth on Bequia - the largest of the Grenadines is easily the most developed of the outer harbours and the regular several times daily ferry service offered by the Admiralty Transport and Bequia Express companies from the island to Port Kingstown on St.Vincent ensures that it is kept busy with activity. Port Elizabeth is very popular with yachting persons.

Port Elizabeth has been declared ISPS compliant, the international code for security of ships and port facilities, in July 2004.

Mustique Island lies 7 miles southeast of Bequia and is managed privately by The Mustique Company. The entire island, its beaches and surrounding waters are a conservation area and the island is popular with yachts stopping in at the sheltered Britannia Bay.

In terms of cargo, Mustique is served four to five times a week by the Mustique ferry, while other vessels call at least once per week carrying materials and containers. The average journey time being two hours.

Brittania Bay has a jetty and 18 moorings for medium sized yachts.

Canouan Island, the Grenadines
Latitude 12º 42' 1" NLongitude 61º 19' 9" WCanouan is located 25 miles south of mainland St.Vincent and is a quiet, peaceful J-shaped island with long golden beaches. The jetty is nestled in the calm of Grand Bay, serving the main town, Charlestown - the port of entry.

Canouan is served by ferry stopping in from St.Vincent heading southward to Union Island.

Latitude 12º 35' 1" NLongitude 61º 25' 0" WClifton, Union Island, has served as the commercial hub to several splendid island locations in its proximity - Palm Island, Petit St.Vincent and Mayreau - and is also a frequent hopping off point to the uninhabited Tobago Cays. Declared a National Park, the perfectly unspoilt Tobago Cays are a favourite of snorkelling enthusiasts and have many-a-time been the photo-shooting destinations for renowned sports magazines and beachware clothing lines.

The Clifton jetty and surrounding navigational aids are maintained by the SVGPA